The New York Jets were hot and heavy for Georgia tight end Brock Bowers ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft. Tyler Conklin noticed all of the hubbub on social media adding, “Obviously the media here you can’t hide from it here right? It’s everywhere but I just try to control the controllables.”

Analysts from the outside openly said that the tight end position was a need for the Jets this offseason. Conklin responded, “Yeah obviously it’s not something you want to hear right? But certainly it’s motivation to go out there and make people change that mental process.”

One of Bowers’ biggest talents coming out of Georgia was his ability to produce yards after the catch. “When he holds the football he turns into a running back and I like that. I can get tight ends the ball reliably underneath right? That’s not a hard thing to do schematically.

You can include a man in a blocking scheme, chip, and then he releases late. Defenses are going to offer you that structurally. Now usually that dump-off goes to Dalton Schultz, [who] turns upfield and gains six yards.

It goes to Tyler Conklin, he turns upfield and gets six yards. Brock Bowers can make that a 15 to 20-yard play. He can break tackles at the tight end position,” Benjamin Solak of The Ringer explained to Jets reporter Ethan Greenberg.

The Jets wanted Bowers because of that particular skill. Ultimately the green and white went in a different way picking offensive tackle Olu Fashanu out of Penn State with the No. 11 overall choice in the first round instead.

Ironically one of the greatest reasons of emphasis this offseason for Conklin is becoming better with his YAC [yards after catch].

“I mean it’s a speed league, right? You can always attempt to get faster and I believe perhaps one of the main things for me is not always speed but using that speed when it needs to be used. Also, my biggest concern maybe heading into the offseason is just yards after the catch.

How do I transform a five-yard reception into a 12-yard catch or a 15-yard catch? So for me that’s sort of my biggest aim going into the offseason is just getting better after the catch and I’ll leave that to my trainers to help me,” Conklin explained during media availability on Tuesday, June 4.

According to ESPN, Conklin has 246 yards after the catch during the 2023 season. That rated No. 17 among tight ends in the NFL. Head coach Robert Saleh seems to appreciate the cut of Conklin’s jib.

“Tremendous human first off. I don’t know what his number is but at least it feels that he is one of the better contested catch people in football.

He’s outstanding at tight-window throws. [A] very trustworthy receiver for the quarterback. He also blocks his tail off in-line as a tight end [and] is a fantastic leader for the entire group,” Saleh said on Tuesday, June 4.

Jets analyst Will Parkinson advocated for the team to extend Conklin with a two-year $20 million contract on social media.